I just finished installing Gentoo (kernel 2.6.5) on my shiny new laptop (a Toshiba Satellite P10). I configured the Alsa driver according to the gentoo guide and the computer plays all right, yet the quality is really not that great: when I play my mp3s the lower frequencies are distorted.

I checked on the KDE info center and it tells me something I don't understand:

Sound driver: 3.8.1a-980706 (ALSA v1.04rc2 emulation code)

What does "emulation code" mean? Is that the reason of the crappy sound?